battens on a new jib?

[Megunticook]

My sailmaker is asking me if I want battens on a new working jib for my TySenior. His opinion is that it will perform better (reduce backwinding on the main) and hold its shape longer. But he says it's totally up to me.

Any opinions on this?

Thanks.

[mgphl52]

My sailmaker is asking me if I want battens on a new working jib for my TySenior. His opinion is that it will perform better (reduce backwinding on the main) and hold its shape longer. But he says it's totally up to me.

Any opinions on this?

Thanks.

Battens in a jib is something I had never heard of or seen. So I googled the concept and found it's popular for racing to maximize a non-overlapping head sail. From what I read, if you're not doing very serious racing, they are probably $$$s that could be put to better use...

[John Stone]

My sailmaker is asking me if I want battens on a new working jib for my TySenior. His opinion is that it will perform better (reduce backwinding on the main) and hold its shape longer. But he says it's totally up to me.

Any opinions on this?

Thanks.

I would not put battens on a jib. Every time you tack, that jib it is luffing hard. It will have a "hinge" effect on the sailcloth on the forward leading edge of the batten. So, it work hardens and wears the fabric there. It will be the first part of the sail that wears out. It will do next to nothing for the performance of a Ty.

[sgbernd]

If you are sailing close hauled, battens help maintain the shape better. I have them on my working jib with the self tacking boom and am happy with them. They also reduce the flutter on the trailing edge as the sail gets old and stretched.

On the other hand...If you are running down wind, and accidentally gybe the jib, the sail and battens foul themselves around the fore stay something terrible. I've had to drop the halyard, haul it all down, sort it out and then put it back up which is not a lot of fun in heavy conditions. So if you intend on using the jib for down wind work, in heavy conditions, I'd recommend avoiding them.

In my case, I have a working jib (a blade) which has battens and a couple of genoas for the light wind which do not have the battens. But downwind in strong conditions, I only use the main alone rather than the jib which some find undesirable.


Steve

[Megunticook]

Hmmm, this is starting to sound like a complex and controversial subject. Thanks for the opinions above. Further thoughts welcome!

I know I always found it annoying to deal with the battens while storing the sail in its bag....not a deal breaker but definitely a factor.

Is Alberg's original sailplan detailed enough to specify battens or not in the jib?

[John Stone]

Hmmm, this is starting to sound like a complex and controversial subject. Thanks for the opinions above. Further thoughts welcome!

I know I always found it annoying to deal with the battens while storing the sail in its bag....not a deal breaker but definitely a factor.

Is Alberg's original sailplan detailed enough to specify battens or not in the jib?

Not complicated or controversial. Don't put battens in your jib. See, isn't that easy?

Seriously, if battens were that effective everyone would use them. Oh wait, except those using a furler...which is almost everyone these days. But even then, all racers would use them and almost none do. At least none that I know of. You control leech flutter with the leech line your sailmaker should install in your jib. And when it get too excessive your sail maker will recut it. Plus I'd hate to get whacked by a batten during a tack or during sail handling on the foredeck.

We mostly use battens on mains due to the presence of positive roach. Couldn't have it without battens.

But in the end, as always, do what you like and makes the most sense to you and make no apologies.

[Paul D.]

IMHO I would not add battens to a foresail for a boat with our hull shape and rig design. I think the cons win out over any pros.

• - Battens really are the weak point of most mains as stated
  - I don't think you would see much benefit in speed or heeling reduction (performance) from adding battens with a heavy full keel hull
  - I would not feel comfortable only being able to use my main going downwind. I regularly do 6+knots downwind with only the genoa flying and with a pretty easy motion too.
  - Can't use a furler - while I would not consider one on a Ty - on our old Typhoon we had a rip snorting mylar genny - on Femme this is an important piece of kit
  - A well made battenless jib shouldn't have a leech flutter problem for many years
  - I believe Alberg would not have had battens in mind for headsails on his boats.

When I splurged and got a simple, well designed and cut genoa (sans battens) for Femme, the first time out I was amazed by the reduction in heeling and increase in forward drive compared to the old genny - especially close reaching. At the safety meeting the next weekend, the other guys in the marina said they saw my smile from all the way across the bay.

[Keith]

I was told that I had that same smile the first time I flew my new asymmetrical last year.

95724174-3173-4419-B4FD-757DFC418ADD.jpeg

Keith

[fmueller]

Vertical battens are used in very tall aspect competition "blade" jibs (furling and non furling) to allow for positive roach. Cruising jibs often have just a little bit of negative roach ("hollow") and control lines - if your jib had positive roach and no battens it would flap like laundry on a clothline.

Leach control lines often induce "cup" along the trailing edge, if set tight enough to dampen flutter, which is not good for smooth re-coupling of the airflow along that edge. Sometimes the best solution is to have the sail tightened or even recut to add slight or additional "hollow" if you are having to have big curl to control flutter.

I only know about this because the issue was raised repeatedly on a boat I raced on a few seasons ago, and the owner had some issues with flutter ... but battens were not added ... a new jib was slightly recut and flutter reduced.

I've been enjoying my 100% jib on my boat partly because its so much easier to tack with the sheets on the coachroof tracks ... if you single hand lots that's something to consider in the discussion about jib size. I think a lot depends on where you sail ... some of us can sail all day and tack twice ... not so on Narragansett Bay where zig zag is what you do ...

cheers

https://www.uksailmakers.com/racing-gen ... al-battens

[sgbernd]

In my case, the working jib lives lashed the boom and never goes below deck. A cover protects it from the sun. So storage is not really a problem. If you keep it in a bag below, obviously battens are a bad idea. And if you use roller furling, that is a whole different issue as battens would have to be vertical and would not be worth much. In my case, the sail is hanked on and has a set of reef points so it can become useful in heavy weather.

-steve

[jbenagh]

What John said. Benefit of a roller furler is huge. And any advantage of battens in a head sail are minimal. Why bother?
Jeff